Suspect's sticky fingers lead to arrest

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Police say they caught up with the man that robbed an Albuquerque 7-Eleven because he left his fingerprints on a bag of Cheetos inside the store.

Jacob Angelo Tafoya, 29, was in front of judge this weekend to face armed robbery charges.

According to a criminal complaint, a clerk inside the 7-Eleven saw Tafoya walking around the store on August 6. The clerk told police he was acting suspicious and waiting for other customers to leave.

Police said Tafoya then demanded the clerk hand over cash, implying he had a weapon.

The complaint said the clerk then called police after Tafoya left with $18.

Investigators took fingerprints from several areas in the store. Some of the prints they pulled came from a bag of Cheetos and a bottle of Coca-Cola.

The Albuquerque Police Department was able to analyze a print pulled off the bag and drink.

Forensic scientist Joe Foster of the crime lab identified a match from the Cheetos bag with Tafoya's fingerprints.

"These are crimes where the bad guy's long gone," Foster said. "We find fingerprints, we find drops of blood, DNA samples things like that, that leads to a bad guy, and that leads to solving a crime."

The bag of Cheetos that led police to Tafoya could land him in prison for nine years and saddle him with a fine of $10,000.

Tafoya is being held at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center on a on a $150,000 cash surety bond.